


The Press Conference

by Bluewolf458



Category: The Sentinel (TV)
Genre: Gen, Sentinel Thursday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-17 12:35:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28974477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluewolf458/pseuds/Bluewolf458
Summary: Naomi's thoughts, and Blair's, during the press conference
Kudos: 5
Collections: 2021 Sentinel Thursday Recycled Challenges





	The Press Conference

**Author's Note:**

> Using the SenTh prompt 'proverbs'

The Press Conference

by Bluewolf

As she listened to Blair's press conference, where he 'confessed' to academic fraud by falsifying the data in his dissertation, Naomi realized that by acting in her usual typical impetuous fashion she had made a monumental mistake. She realized that she should really learn to look before she leapt, and consider the ramifications of her actions first.

Things hadn't been broken, but she had tried to fix them. And it was so, so easy to be wise after the event.

But she had always been aware that Blair was his own harshest critic, never considering that his best was good enough. Her intentions had been really, really good when she sent Blair's dissertation to Sid Graham for his editorial advice; but she had certainly never expected Sid to be so enthusiastic - to the point of wanting to get it printed instantly - as he was. She knew that anything submitted to a publisher usually took months to be published.

She wasn't surprised that Sid had found nothing in grammar or spelling or general wording that he would have suggested changing; and it had never occurred to her that 'second drafting' meant changing names. For so long, 'the world deserves to know' had been her credo; she had never really understood that some things were better left private. Though why Blair should want Jim's abilities kept secret, she couldn't understand.

***

Meanwhile Blair stumbled through his denial of Jim's gifts, knowing that as far as they were concerned it was better to be safe than sorry; and mentally castigating himself for his stupidity.

Why, _why_ , WHY hadn't he used a false name for Jim right from the start? But it was easy to be wise after the event. He had always known that when it came down to it he had to protect Jim's identity. It had just... just been so much easier to write about Detective Ellison than an anonymous Detective A. And, splitting Jim's gifts to disguise that he had only had one sentinel to write about, Detectives B, C and D. At the same time, anyone knowing how he obtained his information would have known which detective he was 'observing'.

Well, it was his responsibility to push the information back into the box it had escaped from. And if he lost his reputation doing so, well, that was his punishment for being so stupid in the first place.

As he walked away from the microphones Chancellor Edwards followed him. "I want your office cleared by Friday!" she snapped. He gave a short, sharp nod and carried on. Her attitude now was so different from that of two or three days ago... and he wondered how the dissertation could ever have been accepted for consideration if it had been professionally published before Rainier saw it.

The one thing he could be sure of was that he had burned his bridges. He would never now get those letters, PhD, after his name. Even if he went to another university his 'claim' of making up his facts would follow him, whatever subject he chose for a new dissertation.

But he regretted nothing. Jim was safe; and that was all that mattered.


End file.
